The Guardian
by magnumhearts
Summary: Being the hero of the Glade of Dreams all his life, Rayman had seen it all. The minions of the drastic Mr. Dark, the horrid robot pirates, the Magician's army of chaos, and a one point, almost experienced death. But can he handle something, or better yet, someone that he knows nothing about? A friend or foe? Based after Rayman Origins.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: This story mainly takes place after Rayman Origins, but will also feature a few characters from Rayman 2. The Rayman series itself belongs to Ubisoft. However, this story I created myself. This is my first fan fiction, so R&R is very much appreciated. Enjoy!**

**Prologue**

The twin moons over the Glade of Dreams barely began to show themselves as the night began to settle in. The once light, azure sky settled to a deep, ocean blue color. The branches of trees swayed gently and calmly as a gentle breeze passed through them. Lums looped over the branches and over the canopy, leaving a trail of light as they fluttered around freely. The Glade of Dreams was resting, with the only sounds in the forest being the lums singing gentle lullabies, crickets chirping, and water crashing quietly.

Nights in the Glade weren't usually this peaceful, but all evil had been vanished in this time, as the Guardian of the Glade had successfully conquered the last evil menace he encountered – the Magician.

For a small, common, little teensy, the Magician stirred up plenty of trouble for the limbless hero and his friends. The tiny menace was a genius, and used his intelligence for destroying their homeland!

However, he was taken care of, along with his ingenious clones, and by Polokus's words, was not supposed to return for a very, very long time. The Guardian of Light, the limbless hero of the Glade of Dreams, would not allow him to.

As soon as the Twin Moons' light softly lit up the night in the forest, the quiet snores of two mischievous best friends could be heard. On a great branch of the Snoring Tree, rest the hero himself, Rayman, and his best buddy, Globox the glute.

Above them, flew over a colorful, long billed bird, carrying something in it's beak. It looked like a basket with a kind of veil covering it's contents. This bird was anything but at peace. It was turning it's head frantically for a host. The pair's snoring gave the bird the best idea. It shot a look downward and swooped down quickly to drop the basket in between the two. The fall of this shook them awake. Rayman's eyes darted around looking for whoever dropped it – but the bird was no where in sight. It was long gone.

The glute scratched his head. "Wha… what was that Rayman?"

Rayman sighed and rubbed his eyes. "No idea… it sure has a way of waking up folks though, if you ask me."

Rayman laid his head back against the branch when he felt something move by his feet – the basket!

"Whatever it was… it left us something." Globox said quietly as he pointed to the basket.

Rayman sat up and was surprised to see movement of the inanimate object by his feet. He and his friend moved away from it a bit. What could possibly be hiding in there? A monster? A trap?

Globox stood behind his braver friend, shaking a bit. Rayman looked at the basket and gulped as he crouched by it and slowly, but gently tapped the veil-like fabric and sighed. He turned to his friend, but the sky-blue glute was muttering something in fear and now had his eyes covered. Rayman's eyes rolled a bit and turned back to the fabric. He took a deep breath.

For some reason, this tiny basket put a pinch of fear in his heart. But he decided to stall no longer. He had to know what it was. He clutched the fabric tightly and pulled it off the basket.

What he saw amazed him.

"A… baby?" the limbless hero mumbled and stared at the helpless newborn.

His friend scratched his head and stared down at it in awe. Rayman too, found himself starring at the baby.

The sight of the creature being a baby is not what amazed Rayman. It's the _species_ of the creature itself what truly dumbfounded him.

Globox muttered loud enough for his friend to hear. "It… looks a lot like…"

"…Me." The guardian crooned.

**(Thanks for reading! More to come soon.)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

For as long as time had existed, Rayman was the only known of his species, a limbless being created by none other than Betilla, a nymph. How could there possibly be _another_ of his kind? Or… very similar to his kind?

Rayman carefully moved away the blanket covering some of the newborn's face so he could see it better – it was a female. Indeed, the baby looked very similar to Rayman. There were very few differences.

The baby's skin color was much paler than of the Guardian's. Her hair tufts were as black as coal, with the very tips being a light, whitish gold. She had a bit of black hair on her head, and it curled around her hair tufts to give it a soft look. Her nose was small compared to Rayman's as well. However, the huge difference were the girl's eyes.

Unlike Rayman's, they were parted. They were just as big, and he had no idea what color they were since she was asleep. There were also a few freckles on the very start at the bridge of her nose.

The poor limbless hero had no idea how long he was staring at the sleeping beauty until Globox's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Huh?" Rayman turned to his friend.

"I said where do you think she came from?"

He scratched his head. What a question.

"I, uh…"

Their low talking made the child stir. Rayman reached over at the basket and rocked it gently, letting out a deep sigh.

"…I don't know. That's a good question. Maybe…"

Rayman's voice was cut off by the sound of his friend's snoring. He couldn't help but smile and chuckle a bit to himself.

_…Maybe Betilla will know. I'll go see her tomorrow._

Although not knowing where the child came from, or whether or not it was a horrible trap waiting to happen, he laid down close beside it. Soon enough, he drifted off to rest.

When the light of the sun shone on the Guardian's face, he began to stir. He fluttered his eyes a bit before his vision cleared – morning. A yawn escaped him, and he turned to see the child still resting before him.

A sigh escaped him as he looked at her. _I admit, kid's pretty cute._

Rayman had only experienced being around children when he would sometimes babysit for Globox. But they were children. This was a baby. He felt in his heart the aura of tenderness when he looked at her. It was a feeling he wasn't familiar with, but he didn't mind it.

He searched around for his best friend, but looked down to see he was already awake and playing with his herd of children. Rayman smiled and grabbed the basket gently. He climbed down and looked over at him.

"I'm going to go see Betilla," the hero called to his friend. "I wanna see what she-"

His words were interrupted by the glute children running over to him and jumping on him happily. The kids truly adored him.

"Hi, Rayman!" they began.

Rayman chuckled and sat up. "Hey, kids. It's good to see you guys too, but I really gotta see Betilla. She-"

"Rayman, what's that?" a curious glute child asked, pointing at the basket. Globox soon came over.

"Oh, that? It's uh… well, I don't know yet. That's why I'm gonna see Betilla. But as soon as I get back, I'm sure we'll all know."

"C'mon, kids." Globox huddled them and lead them back to play. He waved at his friend, and a wave was returned before the hero got up and took the mystery in the basket with him to see his creator.

The creator of Rayman himself, the lovely red-haired nymph, Betilla, was sitting down on a branch of a small tree, observing a group of young teensy children below, not too far away from her. They were laughing and tagging each other playfully. Betilla giggled as she soon joined them. Thanks to her ability to fly, she had no problem hiding. However, this was unfair to the children so she instead helped find hidden kids and help a few find superb hiding areas.

She loved playing with the creatures of the Glade, big or small, rich or poor, shy or obnoxious, she loved playing with them all. The beautiful nymph had a big heart, and didn't mind sharing her love with others. Besides the fact that the nymph created Rayman to protect the Glade, perhaps her love for creatures was also a big inspiration.

"Betilla?"

Speaking of a certain creation.

The nymph turned and flew down to meet with him.

"Rayman, hello. What brings you here?" she asked.

"I, uh… need your help with something." The limbless hero put down the basket in front of her. "Take a look."

Betilla hesitated, but looked over. Her hesitation quickly turned to a squeal of joy, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hands before awaking the entire Glade of Dreams with it.

"It- she- I-"

Rayman smiled a bit. "Yeah, something dropped her with me and Globox last night." A small smirk took over his lips. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Betilla's wide smile turned to a blank expression after hearing his words. "Me? I didn't-"

Rayman snickered a bit and crossed his hands a bit. "C'mon, Betilla, you created me, didn't you? You could have created her as well. So is she my new sister, or something?"

The nymph's expression slowly turned to confusion and worry. "…Rayman, I'm not joking with you. I didn't create her. I thought- erm…"

The Guardian cocked his head in confusion. "Thought… what?"

"Well, that, you… 'created' your own baby…"

It took some thought, but he then understood what his creator was telling him and he tensed up a bit.

"What?! Me? N-no!" Rayman stuttered.

_If Betilla didn't create her… who did?_

The Guardian scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Well… thanks anyway."

Betilla thought for a bit. "Hold on a moment. Maybe you could try taking her to Polokus?"

Rayman raised a brow. "Polokus…? Hm… yeah, yeah." He smiled a bit at understanding what she wanted him to do. "He'll definitely know where she's from!"

"I afraid I don't know where this little one is from," Polokus's words echoed softly throughout the snoring tree. "She looks very similar to you, Rayman, just like you mentioned, but even I, the world's creator, have no idea where this child is from."

Rayman let out a deep sigh. "Aw, man… that's impossible…"

He looked down at the mysterious child. She was now awake, and had beautiful sapphire eyes. She let out a soft giggle and reached out to the hero.

"Well… what do I then?" Rayman asked.

"Well…" Polokus looked at the child, who merely wanted the limbless one's attention.

"Maybe you should take care of her until we find out who she belongs to."

The limbless one's jaw dropped.

"What?! ME?! But I-"

He looked over at the baby, still reaching for him and picked her up gently. He sighed and looked at her deep ocean eyes.

"I… I can't take care of a baby… I really don't know much about them."

"Come now, Rayman…it's only until we find her rightful parents."

"But you don't even know where she's from… the creator of the Glade of Dreams itself… how will we ever find her parents?"

"Perhaps, we won't have to. The parents might come to us. Just be patient, little one."

Rayman's eyes never left the child's. "I… all right."

Without another word, Rayman left with the child resting in his hands. He's never taken care a baby before.

What exactly do you _do_ with a kid?


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Marshes

All creatures when young, take several years to grow, develop and mature. Both physically and mentally. But there was something odd about that dark-haired child Rayman was taking care of.

She wasn't like other children. It had only been a couple of weeks, and the baby wasn't so helpless anymore. In fact, she was walking. Running. Speaking!

It amazed the limbless guardian how quickly the child was growing. How old will she become before she stops? _Will_ she stop? What will happen if she does? If she doesn't?

These questions, along with many others, rambled in Rayman's mind as he saw the child grow before his very eyes. Perhaps, there was much more differences between them then he thought.

Rayman did his very best to push these questions aside and continue living with a new one in his life. But he really didn't know how to raise a child!

How was he going to raise her? Even if it's until the rightful parents arrive?

"Okay," the guardian mumbled, lowering the little one down from his back. "Your feet don't hurt anymore, right?"

The little one shook her head. "No, I can walk now."

Rayman groaned a bit under his breath. _She keeps going off. How am I supposed to constantly keep my eye on her?_

"You have to stop running off, okay?" the limbless hero told her.

"Okay." She returned, giving off a tiny smile.

They continued back to the Glade of Dreams, back to his home.

_I have to give Globox credit,_ Rayman thought. _Over 600 kids, and he can manage them all! I can barely manage one!_

He heard feet scramble and he turned – she was gone again!

"Oh, c'mon!" he ran after the sound. "Skye!"

In no time at all, the little one reached something that fully caught her interest – the great, murky waters of the marshes.

Skye had never seen such massive marshes. It peaked her curiosity to it's highest.

She looked around and then continued on to step on lily pads that would lead her across the toxic-colored water and onto a new part of the Glade of Dreams, a part that might just end her curiosity.

"Skye!" the voice of her guardian echoed through her ears and she turned to see where he was. The quick turn was enough to make her slip off the lillypad. The child couldn't swim!

"H-Help! Help!"

Panic struck the little one as she was enveloped in the murky waters of the marshes. She tossed around and flailed her hands desperately, trying to get out and back to grip air – but the water was the thin line of life that was holding her back.

Before her final breath of life was taken away from her, a head of a sea creature pushed her fragile body up towards the surface.

Skye gasped for breath and held onto the head of her savior tightly, frightened as a kitten. She was in severe trauma, and was shaking so bad, it made her hero shake as well.

Her savior carried her back to land and put her down on the ground. The little one was still shivering and shaking uncontrollably, keeping her eyes shut. She didn't know what saved her, but the presence of her savior never left her. And neither did he.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." The soft, male voice was the only thing Skye heard besides her traumatizing thoughts of her near death experience. "C'mon, open up your eyes. I don't bite."

Skye took a few seconds to catch her breath and calm herself. She peeked through her hands and looked at her hero. He chuckled at her innocent peek.

Her hands slowly lowered at hearing such a cheery and happy laugh. "Did… did you save me?"

A smile came onto the critter's face. "Yep. You gave me quite a scare. You shouldn't be playing around here, especially if you can't swim."

She looked down shyly, biting her lip softly and returning just a nod.

"I won't hurt, you, honest. Could you just try to look at me?"

The little didn't respond, but a few seconds of thought was all it took to have her look up at who her savior really was.

The creature looked very similar to one of Rayman's friends, Sam, the swamp snake. Except his skin color was a deep midnight blue, with a hint of silver and black at his spikes. His spikes ran from his head down his back and he wore an orange bandana over his slightly thick neck. He was also bigger than Rayman's friend, and it seemed he was in his teen years.

After looking over at the swamp serpent, Skye looked away, blushing at her realization that she was staring at him.

"Heh, kind of shy, aren't you?" the friendly swamp snake asked. "I didn't mind saving you. What's your name?"

"Skye." The little mumbled quiet, her voice sounding soft and gentle.

Her timidity just made the snake smile.

"Skye? That's kind of a funny name," he chuckled.

"N-no! I like it!" Skye felt herself blush deeper in embarrassment at realizing her sudden outburst. She looked down at her feet.

"Heh heh. I knew I could make you talk." The snake admitted, the sound of his soft voice making her raise her head to meet his eyes.

"You could just call me Jess. I'm guessing you're not from around here, huh?"

The little shook her head.

"There you are."

The two turned to the sound of a familiar voice. It was Rayman.

"Dad," Skye mumbled and stood up. The guardian approached her and accepted the embrace the little one gave her. His eyes then met the snake's.

"Who's this guy?" the guardian asked.

"Name's Jess. I saved your little girl, Skye. She was playing around here in the marshes."

Rayman raised a brow and looked at the little one, now hiding behind him.

"Did she? Well… thanks."

Jess nodded. "No prob, just keep a closer eye on your daughter, okay? I got scared the water could have taken her life."

"She's no-" Rayman cut himself off when he realized Skye was still behind him. "…All right. Thanks."

Jess soon turned and disappeared into the marshes. Rayman turned to looked at the frightened little girl behind him.

"I told you not to run off," the limbless hero began. "If what the snake guy said was true, you wouldn't be here if it wasn't without him. Be more careful and stick by me, okay?"

Skye looked down and nodded. "Yes, dad…"

_Dad._ The word made Rayman cringe. He wasn't the little one's father. And he had to let her know that somehow.

"…Look, Skye…" he sighed and met her frightened eyes. "I, Uh… prefer you call me by my actual name, okay?"

"Oh… okay… Rayman."

The limbless hero beamed a small smile and held her hand, leading her back home.

**_No prob, just keep a closer eye on your daughter, okay?_**

The voice of the gentle water serpent echoed this message through his mind. If it wasn't for him, Skye would have been no more. Though still being somewhat strangers, Rayman couldn't let the little one put herself in danger. He had to become an actual father figure to her now.

_Bah, it'll only be until her biological parents arrive…_

_Right?_


End file.
